Vehicular manslaughter trial ends with hung jury

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The jury in a misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter case could not agree on a verdict, resulting in a mistrial Wednesday.

Tyler Gevas, of Grass Valley, had fallen asleep at the wheel in an August 2012 head-on collision on Highway 49 near Brewer Road. Noel Camacho, 35, of Stockton, was pronounced dead on the scene after Gevas, 18 at the time, allowed his 2002 Toyota Tacoma to drift into southbound traffic. Gevas’ truck collided head on with Camacho’s Chevrolet Tahoe.

Gevas was charged with vehicular manslaughter without gross negligence and driving across a divided highway. His trial began March 26; the jury was deadlocked 10-2 on both charges, according to court documents.

The fact that Gevas had fallen asleep contributed to the jury’s inability to reach a consensus, said Nevada County District Attorney Cliff Newell. Newell said he was not sure if his office would opt to re-try the case; the charges have not yet been dismissed. A hearing has been set in Nevada County Superior Court for April 5.

In other court news:

— An error in sentencing was addressed in court Friday for an attempted murder conviction.

Daniel Lucas Colondres had been sentenced to 15 years and six months for the attempted murder of Taylor George and attempted voluntary manslaughter of Shanti Reynolds. Colondres, 25 at the time, had been stalking Reynolds for a period of time before he broke into her residence in the gated Lake Wildwood community Aug. 20, 2011. He slashed Reynolds and George, her boyfriend, with a knife before a neighbor drove him off by hitting him with a golf club.

Judge Tom Anderson had sentenced Colondres to a principal term of 96 months to life with no good-conduct credit and 90 months with only 15 percent time credit for good behavior. But the state Department of Corrections indicated that Colondres needed to be sentenced to the determinate term first, Assistant District Attorney Anna Ferguson said. He will serve that first, and then the life sentence.

— The arraignment for a 31-year-old Grass Valley man on multiple charges of child molestation involving at least five victims has been postponed until April 11.

Jonathan Scott Foote was arrested Feb. 14 for allegedly molesting at least five boys over a period of 11 years; the boys were in their very early teens at the time of the alleged incidents.

Foote was booked into Wayne Brown Correctional Facility on suspicion of lewd and lascivious acts with a child younger than 14 and continuous sexual abuse of a child. He is being held in county jail in lieu of $5 million bail.

Foote was set for arraignment Thursday, but Deputy District Attorney Jennifer Ow has filed an amended complaint, adding new charges and two new victims.

— A woman arrested in Georgia in February after failing to return from a Nevada County jail pass was in court Thursday and is set to enter a plea April 18.

Elizabeth Ann Monk had been serving a jail sentence after being convicted of multiple charges involving elderly victims but had been a fugitive from Wayne Brown Correctional Facility since November 2011. She was arrested after a traffic stop in Dooly County, Georgia.

Monk had taken a plea agreement in October 2011 after being charged in three separate cases involving writing bad checks. She eventually agreed to plead no contest to one count of writing checks with insufficient funds in each of the three cases, was given a suspended sentence and three years probation and was to serve 249 days in county jail.

On Nov. 10, 2011, Monk requested a day pass from jail, which was granted. She never returned. A warrant was issued, and her probation was revoked; a new case later was filed, charging her with escape from custody.